Returning to the Black God Gang's A City headquarters, Yang Yi sat in his office, staring down at the documents on his desk with a heavy heart. This particular set of data concerning the division of power in the North was the most comprehensive he had yet seen. Yet, looking over the territorial divisions, he felt certain areas were highly suspect.

Since the conclusion of the Hongmen Banquet in Hangzhou, the Three Great Military Regions had begun to show wavering allegiance toward Ye Han. Simultaneously, the situation with the Three Princes of the Northern underworld had become baffling. The utter lack of movement or response from them, coupled with their apparent hesitation regarding Ye Han, suggested that the Northern underworld was, just as Yang Yi suspected, entirely under the control of the military—a military that, in turn, held some sort of prior connection to Ye Han.

"Brother Yi, it seems our great opportunity has arrived. Why don't we capitalize on their wavering stance towards Ye Han and stage a 'cage the heart of the army' maneuver?" Murong Lianxue's words were entirely unsurprising coming from her. Having devoured ancient military texts since childhood, the young girl was already considered a prodigy within the Xuan Sect, not to mention her recent dedicated study of martial arts and military strategy.

Sun Tzu’s Art of War comprised thirty-six stratagems, each one a complete maneuver designed to utilize the human heart, the flow of worldly affairs, and every possible scenario with absolute finesse—this was the essence of Sun Tzu's philosophy.

"It seems Murong Liantian gathered good intelligence in the North. Very well, Lianxue, proceed as you suggested. Notify him and instruct him to leverage his influence to court those three Princes. Make it clear it comes from me." Yang Yi nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Brother Yi!" Murong Lianxue replied, then turned and left.

Yang Yi put down the files, murmuring to himself, "The Three Great Sects remain silent. Ye Han's influence is only stirring slightly in Southern Asia, and the activity in Tibet, after an initial stir, has suddenly ceased. What game is Ye Han playing?"

Unsure how long he had been lost in thought in the Black God Gang headquarters, the office door suddenly burst open. Feng Shi rushed in, breathless. "Young Master, something terrible has happened!"

"What is it?" Yang Yi shot up in surprise at the sound of Feng Shi's voice.

"Just as I arrived at the airport, Fatty Lin and the others were abducted right near the airport entrance!" Feng Shi could barely believe that despite her best efforts to pursue them, the culprits had still managed to escape.

Yang Yi frowned deeply. "Tell me everything, in detail!"

"Yes! It happened like this!" Feng Shi recounted the events in a detailed manner.

It turned out that the moment Fatty Lin, Xu Ming, and Ye Xiaohou stepped out of the airport exit, Feng Shi had just arrived and was coincidentally stopped at a red light. Suddenly, a group of men in black appeared. Using some unknown method, they instantly subdued Fatty Lin and his companions with a stupefying agent, and then abducted them in broad daylight, under the gaze of countless onlookers. Feng Shi pursued them in her car for quite some distance, but they ultimately got away.

After listening to Feng Shi's narrative, Yang Yi remained silent for a long moment. Very few people could escape Feng Shi’s driving skills. Furthermore, given the collective strength of Fatty Lin and the other two, it was no ordinary task to abduct them so swiftly. Feng Shi had mentioned the men in black suddenly appearing before them, strongly implying the use of some specialized technique.

"Quickly! Dispatch men immediately to seal off all major exits from A City! Even if we have to turn the entire city upside down, find those three!" Yang Yi declared with a sweep of his hand, his face grim. They hadn't been gone long; surely they couldn't have traveled far, especially with hostages in tow.

"Young Master, isn't this...!" Feng Shi felt that even the enemy’s identity was unclear, and anyone bold enough to snatch three pillars of the Black God Gang must possess immense audacity. Therefore, Feng Shi sensed that Yang Yi's immediate command might be too rash. If they inadvertently walked into an enemy trap, the consequences... were obvious.

"Go, just follow my orders," Yang Yi stated firmly.

"Yes, Young Master!" Hearing this, Feng Shi understood that Yang Yi had already formed a plan and, putting aside her reservations, immediately left to make the arrangements.

At that moment, Murong Lianxue hurried back in, looking at the grave expression on Yang Yi’s face with confusion. "Brother Yi, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Fatty and the others were abducted."

"What?" Murong Lianxue gasped, her face etched with shock.

Yang Yi waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry. The enemy is fairly obvious. If it's not the three Princes of the Northern underworld, it must be the Church; if not them, then it’s Ye Han. However, I believe Fatty will be safe for now while in their hands. Their target is me, after all."

"Then... Brother Yi, what should we do now?"

"Wait!" Yang Yi suddenly remembered something and immediately dialed a number. "Hello!"

"Yi!"

Xia Shiyun’s voice on the other end instantly put Yang Yi at ease. He quickly pressed, "Shiyun, where are you right now? Are the three of you together?"

Hearing the urgency in Yang Yi's tone, a burst of laughter came from the phone. She replied teasingly, "What, are you worried about us? Hehe, how surprising!"

"Idiot, tell me straight!" Yang Yi roared in frustration.

Xia Shiyun on the other end paused, likely startled by Yang Yi's sudden outburst. After a long moment, Xuanyuan Bing’s voice came through—it seemed Xia Shiyun had been sufficiently wronged to stop listening to the call.

"Yi, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

"Bing'er, listen to me. Take Shiyun and Qian'er immediately to the nearest street-side café restaurant and wait for me. Remember, do not leave that spot until I arrive!"

"Ah, okay. But you have to tell me what’s going on!"

"There’s no time to explain now. I’ll be there shortly. Remember what I said: absolutely do not leave that café until I get there!"

"Understood."

Yang Yi hung up, a deep sense of unease settling over him. Years of experience had honed his keen instincts, telling him this was no simple matter. He quickly turned to Murong Lianxue. "Lianxue, let's go!"

"En!" Murong Lianxue instinctively clenched her small fists.

"What's wrong with that pervert? Why did he yell at Sister Shiyun until she cried? Hmph, I won't let him off later!" Li Qian said indignantly, noticing Xia Shiyun's slightly reddened eyes.

"Qian'er, this is serious. We need to gauge the situation. From Yi's tone, I sensed something monumental is about to happen. He wouldn't be this rushed otherwise. Think about it, and you’ll understand," Xuanyuan Bing said, glancing around before adding, "Let's go. The street above is where Yi mentioned. We need to hurry."

"Ah, oh, right!" Both Li Qian and Xia Shiyun felt as if Xuanyuan Bing's words had instantly enlightened them. They quickly followed her.

Just as they hurried away, a sleek black sedan appeared behind the spot where they had been standing. Inside sat a middle-aged man and a young, beautiful woman.

"Miss, it seems he is decisive; he's already thought through so many countermeasures."

"Heh, if he lacked even this level of capability, why would he be the Dragon Lord of the Black God Gang?" the young woman murmured lightly, then asked, "Is everything prepared?"

"Yes, we have people following them!" The middle-aged man in the driver's seat sounded slightly puzzled. "Miss, please forgive my bluntness, but Uncle Long doesn't understand."

"Ask away, Uncle Long."

"What exactly is your objective in doing all this? Uncle Long truly doesn't grasp it!"

"It's fine that you don't understand now. You will once everything is over," the woman said, looking back at the three disappearing figures through the window before turning, "Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, on a street in A City, a car was tearing along at a blistering speed of 360. It was less driving and more a desperate race. Weaving between lanes and exploiting every gap, every car overtaken was met with an angry curse, and even pedestrians and cyclists felt that this vehicle wasn't being driven, but risked for sheer survival.

The most amusing part was a man who had just emerged from a nearby psychiatric hospital shouting, "Damn it, who drives like that? That guy is clearly a lunatic! Haha, haha, lunatic, lunatic!"

"Hey, who do you think is the lunatic?" a passerby asked his companion.

"Pfft, is there any doubt? It's obviously the one yelling at the driver for being a lunatic," the companion replied.

Hearing this, the first passerby looked confused. "Why?"

"Because usually, the one who calls others lunatics is the lunatic himself, especially when they're standing on the roadside. Think about it: could a true lunatic possibly overtake that many cars and speed ahead like that?" The companion’s eyes gleamed as he tracked the speeding car disappearing from view, muttering, "A true master!"

"Damn! You’ve confused me with your twisted logic," the first passerby complained, then shrugged and pulled his friend—a die-hard fan of extreme subcultures who enjoyed the wilder groups—away, lest they be mistaken for lunatics themselves!